Automatic cooler or can-tray unloader



Feb. 24, 1931. R. DOUGLASS AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAY UNLOADER FiledMarch 28, 1929 9 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 24, 1931. R. DOUGLASS 1,793,596

AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAY UAILOADER Filed March 28, 1929 9Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 24, 1931. DOUGLASS 1,793,596

AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAY UNLOADER Filed March 28, 1929 9Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 24, 1931. R. DOUGLASS AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAYUNLOADER Filed March 28, 1929 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 lllliliilallllll ill.ll|l| Feb. 24, 1931. R. DOUGLASS 1,793,596

AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAY UNLOADER Filed March 28, 1929 9Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb. 24, 1931. R. DOUGLASS AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAYUNLOADER Filed March 28. 1929 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 all-5% Feb. 24, 1931. RDQUGLASS 1,793,596

AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAY UNLOADER Filed March' 28, 1929 9Sheets-Sheet '7 Feb. 24, 1931. R. DOUGLASS AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAYUNLOADER 9 Shee ts-Sheet 8 Filed March 28, 1929 Feb. 24; 1931.

R. DOUGLASS AUTOMATIC COOLER OR CAN TRAY UNLOADER Filed March 28. 1929 9Sheets-Sheet 9 0 0 B i WN k m mmm M U 0 mw k 1 w o o N r o w s L X .3QWNCA mm AWN mmnlg N M M LN- m M l a t entecl Pet. 24,

' f, safe? f i noznnnoueLnsson s'ou rn ieiimii' vtmnl'w, WAs NGTOfiAUTOMATIC anemia on; An-mmnmmmn" Application 'file'd llfa'rch' 2S,

This invention relatest'o an automatic cooh eror can tray unloa'der,

The primary-object o'f theinvention i-sto provide a novel apparatus? forunloading" cooler or can trays to: facilitate the unloading of suchcoolers or trays, and -the-feedingpf filled": can-s into 'boxes or casestor shipment.

' Throughthe'emp'loyment of this--machine,f about 600 cases- 0f 48 can'sof" canned product's l can'lo'epu-t in b'oxes perchour, saving a greatdeal of labor; The-01d methodim v0lved-manual laborwhich was slow andtedious; but With the: present= machine, the

I 1 labor can tie-reduced fro1n50 to 75%, atthea same tlme increasingthe production per hour. v r 1 Another ob ect of the in-v'entlon is to;PTO-f Vide a: machine of this character, including an elevating true-korcarriage designed l to receive, one-'at a time,-the'cooleisor cantrays,

and combined with in'ea n s for automatically elevating the truck a-fter'1t=has-been loaded,

and for conveying the truck on to a runway.-

A further object is to combine in such a v -niachine', aninvertibl-ecarriage With-the ele- I vatin g truckg the carriage"beingidesigned to w7 with other ob'j'ects in viewwhich W-ill appear as the descriptionproceeds, my invention:

consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail,illustrated in the acconi'g panying; drawings, and: more particularlypointed-"outin the-"appended claims;

Referring to the drawings,- Fig; 1 i is side View of my; apparatus:

truck and invertible: carriage removed; Figs-3 *is an 'enlargedtransverse sectional view on the line of Fig.1.

7. Fig.4 isransend-iview with par-tsremovedk 'Fig. 5 isa section ontheline 5 5'ofFig.

onthe end standard 4;- 1

Fig. 2' is a 'plan View with 'the elevating" truck. 7

Shafts 9 are located on the underside of;

1929: Serial 1%; 315036065 2, showing the invertible carriage and' truckon the supporting frame-g. r "I Fig; 16 is a sectionon the line6'-+6"of-Ei'g'1 2 V Fig; -7 isa bottom plan rview-otrthekelevateingtruck. r I

Figr8'fiisa side 'view oi the same 1 Fig; 9'-is anend view ofthe truckb1 Fig; 10 is atop plan View of the invertible t carriage: v

Fig. 11is%a side* elevation of t'he same? g Fig. 12isan end Viewof-s'aidcarriage; 1'

Figs; .13, I l and: 1 5: are-' detail sectional views of thesamez' Figs.16 "and l7iand 18 areidetail -views of' theel'eva'ting'truck; r

Fig. 19 is anje larged rviews'ofithe elevat ing: truck track, showingelevatingvtruck in' Fig. 20 is enlarged: sectional viewiot the trucktrack, taken on: the line"20+20 of I 5 Figs. 21 r and '22 are planviews; of-p arts of Fig; Plan vieW'oiI' p'art -otthe mm d iblecarriage-truck. e :v

Figs; 2 and 25 are plan yiews of'parts-of thetruck track.

the-"inclinedextension track. y

In the 'draW-ings,==1'-designates a-Wheel sup'zported frame providedbelow its topwith tracks 20h Which therel'evating truck travels.--

These tracks are detachalgly connected to in 7 clined t'rack extensions3 1thatare mounted on supporting standards 4; i

The elevating truck 5 -is designed to rollalongj the: tracks and theirextensions, andhen'thetruck is "in starting position, it rests at thelower endsof-tl ie' track extensions-, and abutsagainst thestopbarfi'which ismoun'ted The details (Jr-the elevating. truckare-z'bestg' I sh'own-inFig-sfii, 8, 9, l6 and 17 ,gand-it- Wllh henoted from-these figuresgx-that the truck includes a platform 7 providedat one end With ananglebar 8, that functions as a gauge for squaring:the cooler'or' can tray- OIFthQ' the platform, and ournaledi inbeariri'gslQ that are secured to the platform, and each shaft preferablyconsists of two sections detachably'connected by a coupling 11, whichpermits the sections to be readily detached from the platform.

Each shaft is provided at its ends with eccentric stub shafts oraxles12, onwhich the supporting wheels 13 are journaled. LThese wheelsroll along the tracks 2 and their extensions 3. Due to the eccentricarrange ment of the axles 12, it is obviousthat when the shafts 9 areturned in their bearings 10,

the wheels 13 will movei'n arcs having the axes of the shafts 9 astheircenters, and this movement is utilized for raising and lowering theplatform 7. 7.

In order that the shafts will swing in unison, they are connected'by-a'link14 which .is pivotallyconnectedto armsl5, fast on the V shafts9.

it will be observed that one ofthe cables 21,

heretofore mentioned, has one of its ends connected to a winding drum22, mounted in the frame 1, and from this drum, the cable passes over asheavev23, positioned 'on one of the cross bars 24 of the frame. Fromthis sheave, the'cable extends forwardly and engages the pulley 19a,from which it extends, and has its other end connected to the actuatingarm 16. It will thereforebe seen (Fig. 5 thatwhen the winding drumisactuated, the cable will pull on the arm 16 andcause the shafts 9 toturn about 160 degrees, until the arm 17 contacts with the under side oftheplatform 7. Due to this movement, the platform will be elevated, andas soon as the stop arm'17 contacts with the platform, the elevatingtruck will be pulled upwardly by the cable on the track extensions, andfinally on to the tracks 2. As the truck travels along the tracks, oneof its front wheels will strike a pivoted detent 25 (Figs. 3, 19, and20), which bymeans of a cord 25a passing over guide pulleys 25b, 250,will function to throw the clutch of the winding drum, and thusreleasethe clutch' from driving engagement with its motor 26. The winding drumwill thus come to rest, but the truck will continue to move, due tomomentum, and will be finally halted by stop arms 27 on the truckcontacting with similar stop arms 28a on the frame 1. a 7

center. M H

Other rollers 39 travel on one of the edges] of the tracks 34,.and arecombined with guide disks 40 which engage the inner surfaces of.

When the truck has reached this position,

it will be proper location to allow the invertible carriage to take thecooler or can tray with the cans contained therem, off the truck. Inorder that this operation may be clearly understood, I will now describethe invertible carriage. As best shown in Figs. 8 to 10 inclusive, thiscarriage 28 also includes a platform 29, provided intermediate its endswith a cross bar 30, fixed to the platform by any suitable means, andprovided at its endswith arms 31 which project at angles to the bar andplatform. Stud shafts 32 are fixed to these extensions, and providedwith anti-frictionrollers 33that travel on .tracks 34 mounted on theframe at a higher elevation than the tracks l. In additi'omjto theanti-friction roller, each shaft 32 carries a guide disk 35, and theguide disks of the two shafts bear against oppositesidesof the. frame 1for maintaining the carriage in proper alignment.

Each disk has a pair of projecting cams 36v for actuating movablestops37 WlllCllWlll be further referred to, hereinafter.

Hand wheels 38 are fast on the outer ends of the stationary shafts 32,and these wheelsare employed by the operator or operators to swing theplatform approximately 180 degrees, using the axes the tracks 34, andalso functionto maintain theplatform 28 in proper alignment. 7

Each disk 40 and its associated roller 39 is mounted on an axle 41,carried by a bracket 42 fixed to the platform, near one end of the same.

' The invertible carriage is completed by .a pair of lifting arms orextensions 43, which of the shafts 32 as a,

project from posts 44, fixed to one end of the 7 platform, and theseextensions are braced by brackets 45.

At this point it will width of the truck platform 7 is somewhat lessthan the distance between the arms 43 of be noted that the,

the invertible carriage, in order that said arms may be moved with theinvertible carriage along the sides of the truck platform,

with a view of permitting the cooler or can tray to come to rest on thearms 43', when the invertible carriage 28 is in inverted position, andthe platform of the lifting truck is low- :ere'd. I,

Heretofore in the description, I have brought the lifting truck with itsload into'its halted position on the tracks 1. With the truck and itsload in this position, and. the carriage inverted, it will be obviousthat when the hand wheels 38 are pulled in the proper direction, thecarriage will roll along the tracks 34 untilthe' carriage assumes aposition directly above thetruck. When in this position, the liftingarms 43 will lie directly below thelateral edgeportionsof the cooler orcan 1 tray, and, at this time, the: platform of the truck is lowereds0as to relieve the truck of the load, and place this burden on thecarriage. For the purpose oflowering the platform ofthe truck, and thentransferring the truck'backto its initial position at the lower end ofthe inclinedextensions of the track, another cable 45 is employed. This1 cable has one of-its ends connected'toa winding drum 47 that is alsodriven by the motor, through the medium of a clutch. This cable extendsfrom the winding drum about a and has its other endfixed to theactuating arm 1600f the truck. Consequently, when this winding drum isactuated, the cable will first pull on the arm 16a and swing the shafts"9 uritilthe stoparm l'hacontacts with the platform 7 ,and then, as thecable continues to Wind, the truck will be pulled first along thetracks1, andthen down'the inclined ex tensions,,until it comes to rest at thelower end of the track extensions.

At this time, the loaded cooler or can tray is supported by. thecarriage. 28,an d it may be mentioned that. the operator, in swingingthe carriage back to its initial-position, will cause the cams36 todepress the stops 38, sothat these stops will not interfere with themove{ ment ofthe carriage along its tracks. Each of'these stopspreferably consistsof a spring pressedrod connected by a link to a partof the mainframe. These links'are in the path of movement of the disks85, and conse quently, when either link is engaged by one of the cams36, the stop, connected tolthatlink will be depressed, and this willpermit the rollers 33 to pass along their tracks without interference bythe sto s, when such interference is not desired. 11 the other hand, the

stops perform their required function when necessary. 7

end of the cooler or tray will come to rest against the post. a l of thecarriage, and these posts will prevent the load from falling off thecarriage While the latter is being inverted.

After reversal of the carriage, the move,

ment ofthe hand Wheels is continued to feed the load toward thedischarge end of the machine, and in such movement,

the rollers 39 travel along their tracks until they reach the ends ofthe same, and these-ends terminate short of the discharge end of themachine, it is obvious that as soon as the rollers 39 dropoff the endsof their tracks,'the carriage will assumeanjinclined position, and thefor-wardedge of its platformwill come to rest clearing endlessbelt 51.At

. thistim'e, andwhile the carriage; remains in an inclined position, itmay be moved back toward the'centen of the frame, so that the cooler or.canatray'will slide. ofhand gbe deposited on the endless belt." At thistime, thezendless v belt is inmotion, and:the operator may shift thecooler around to bringthe cans int-o proper alignment on the belt, and:then the cooler or tray-may'be lifted off,.leavingzthe cans onthe'belt, 'Now the belt isrinmotion for the purpose of feeding the cansinto lateral runways 53, arranged atthedischarge end of the machine, andthese runways com municate withoppositely extending tracks 54, whichmaylead to boxing machines, no

' The endlessbeltis prefer the frame, and oneof these rollersiisprovided with a sprocket wheel which is driven by suithalted while". themotor continues to revolve. i I prefer-to mount the-main 'frame oftheblymounted on I rollers '55, jour'naled in suitable bearingsion' machineon wheels, in orde rflthat it can be move-d easily from one place toanother, and

e as the inclined extensions 3-of:the-elevating truck tracks aredetachably connected, this will also facilitate the shifting of the machine from placeto place. 1 c

From the foregoing description, it is obvious that I have-provided. amachine in- 5 volving an elevating truck which may re ceive loaded cantrays, one after theother, and elevate the same intoaposition' wheretheyfmay be readilyhandled' by an invertible carriage, the latter beingactuated by the operator or operators for transferring a loaded tray onto an endless belt, fromwhich the cans may be expeditiously fe'dint0'machines to be packed into their box-esor shipping containers, inthe shortest time possible, and vith a minimum expenditure of labor. Itwill be manifest to those skilled in the art that various changes may bemade in the v s details disclosed withoutjdepar-ting from the While thecarriageis being inverted, one,

spirit'of the invention as expressed infthe claims. 7 j y W hat I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can tray unloader, including a track,v 4' 5 cluding haulingflexible elements for elevatmg the platform andfor moving the truck '15along said "track, 1 c

3; In a machine of the character described, track having adoWnwardlyfinclined exten-' sion, a truck movable along the track andhaving an elevatible platform, and means in eluding haulingflexibleelements for elevating the platform relatively to the track and inghauling flexible elements for rotating,

the shafts in their bearings, and thereby raising said platform, andformoving the platform, shafts and wheels along said track. r

5. In a machine of the character described, a tracln wheels mounted onthe track, rock shafts having eccentric portions on Which the wheels areournaled, a platform, bearings for the shafts supporting said platform,connecting means between the shafts to permit the same to be rocked inunison, motor actuated means and means connected to the motor-actuatedmeans for rocking said shafts and moving the wheels, shafts and platformalong said track.

G. In a machine of the characterdescribed, a track, a wheel supportedtruck mounted on the track and having an elevatible platform, a windingdrum mounted adjacent to the track, means for elevating said platform,and a flexible element connecting the last men tioned means to the drum,whereby when the drum. is. rotated, the flexible element will firstraise the platform, and afterwards move the truck along the track. a V

7. Ina machine of the character described,

a track, a truck movable along the track and including a platform,shafts supporting thev platform, and rollers mounted on the shafts, theportions of the shafts on which the rollers are mounted being arrangedeccentrically to the remainder of the shafts, whereby, when theshaftsare rocked, the platform will be elevated, stops on the shaftsengageablewith the platform for limiting the upward and downward movement of theplatform, and means for rocking said shafts and moving the truck alongthe track.

8. Ina machineof the character described, a track, an elevating truckmovable along the track and having an upwardly and downwardly movableplatform, means for elevating the platform and for moving the truckalong the track, said means including a mo-- tor, a winding drum, aclutch interposed between the motor and winding drum, a flexible elementconnecting the drum and truck, and means actuated by the truck as itmoves along the track for shifting the clutch to disengage the windingdrum from the motor.

9. In a machine of the character described, atrack, a truck movablealong the track and having an upwardly and downwardly movable platform,and means for shifting said platformand for moving the truck along thetrack, said means including a motor, an actuating member, a clutchinterposed between the motor and actuating member, and means operated bythe truckas, it moves along the track for shifting'said clutch. I a

10. In a machine of the character described, a pair, of tracks, onetrack being at a higher elevation than the other, an; elevati ble truckmounted on one of said tracks,

means for elevating the truck and; for mov- 7 elevating and; loweringsaid truck and for shifting the same along thelower track, portions ofsaid tracks overlapping, andan 1nvertible carriage mounted'onthe uppertrack and arranged to relieve the elevatlble truck of load andlZO'lDVtBIl] said load.

12. In a machine ofthe character described, upper and lower tracks, thelower track having a downwardlyand outwardly inclined extension, anelevatible truck mounted on the lower track, means for elevating andlowering the truck andfor shifting the latter along the. lower track,portions of said tracksoverlapping and an invertible carriage mounted onthe upper track andladapted to be moved into a positionover the truckwhen the latter is in a certain location, and to relieve the truck ofits load when said truck is lowered.

13. a In a machine of the character described, upper and lower tracks,the lower track having a downwardlyand outwardly extending portion, ZItI UClIIHOUDtGCl on the lower track and having an upwardly anddownwardly movable platform, means for raising and lowering saidplatform and for" shifting the truck alongthe lower track, an invertiblecarriage mounted on the upper track and adapted to receive a load fromthe truck, means for use in inverting said carriage, and aconveyor'arranged to receive a load discharged by the carriage. I

14, In a machine of the character described, a track, means for feedinga load into a position adjacent said track, and an'invertible carriagemounted on the track and adapted to receive the load, said carriageincluding a platform, mainsupporting wheels for the platform arranged atthe medial portion of the latter and functioning as fulcrums to permitthe platform to be turned over, and balancing wheels mounted on theplatform and ar-' rangednear one end of the same.

- 15. In a machine of the character described, a track, means forconveying a load, into a position adjacent said track, and aninvertibleica -rriage mounted on the track and adapted to receive theload and to invert the same, said carriage including a platform,

main supporting wheels for the carriagelocated at the medial portion ofthe same and 1 functioning as fulcrums when the carriage is inverted,other supporting wheels for the carnage mounted near one end of theplatform, and a hand wheel having itsaxis in Y alignment with the axesof the main sup- I porting wheels, and fixed tothe platform to permitthe operatorto invert the latter.

. 16. In a machine of the character described, a track, means forconveying a load, into a' position adjacent to the track, and. an invertible carriage adaptedto receive the load and mounted on said track,said carriage including aplatform, ears fixed to the platform andpositioned at the medial portion of the same, laterally projectingshafts fixed to said ears, main supporting wheels rotatably mounted onsaid shafts and engageable with said track, balancing wheels mounted onthe platform adjacent one endv of the V latter, and a hand wheel fixedto one of said jshafts, whereby the operator .may invert the track andhaving an upwardly and downwardly movable platform, means for shiftingthe platform andffor moving thetruck along its track, said truck beingadapted to convey a load, an invertible'carriage mounted on. the uppertrack and adapted to receive'the load'from the truck when the plat formislowered, means for use in inverting sald carnage, and a conveyormounted on the frame andarranged to receive the load from f theinvertible carriage.

- In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification.

- ROYAL DOUGLASS.

carriage while moving the same along said track.

17. In a machine of the character described, i

a track means for feeding a load into a position adjacent to said track,and an invertlble carriage mounted on the track and adapted to receivethe load from said means, said carriage including a platform, supportsprojecting laterally from the medial portion of said platform,projecting shafts fixed to said supports, supporting wheels rotatablymounted on the shafts and engaging said track, means for balancing saidplatform, means for guiding the platform against lateral movement, andmeans for use in moving the platform along the track and for invertingthe latter.

18. In a machine of the character described, 7 a. track means forfeeding a load into a posi tion adjacent to said track, an invertiblecar riage mounted on the track and adapted to receive the load from saidmeans and invert the load, movable stops obstructing the track, andmeans on the carriage for shiftlng the i stops out of the positions inwhich they obstruct the carriage. V

19. In a machine of the character described, a track, means for feedinga load into a position adjacent to said track, and an invertible alongone" face of the platform in's'paced relation to the latter.

I carriage mounted on-said track and adapted l to receive and invert theload, said carriage H including a platform and arms extendlng 20. In amachine of the character described, 1' 7 tracks, a truck movable along"one of said tracks and having a platform to support a load, and aninvertible carriage mounted on i the other track and adapted to take theload from the truck and invert the load, said carriage being providednear its side edges with load receiving arms spaced apart a greater a

